The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk Interactive Dialogue at 56th Human Rights Council
“I sometimes fear that we are losing the art of de-escalation, of keeping communication channels open, of actually embracing a culture of peace in line with international law and with the United Nations Charter,” Türk told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“Human rights is a factor of stability. In the chaos. it guides us, it offers solutions it offers orientations, it offers signposts, and it offers a direction of travel,” he said.
“Selectivity and double standards are an anathema to the foundation of the international level system. From Sudan to Myanmar, OPT, Israel to many other places – the victims of the most serious violations deserve the equal attention of the international community,” the High Commissioner said.
“Human rights issues are a matter of international concern. It is not an issue of interference in domestic affairs or in national sovereignty. That was established early on, through the UN Charter,” Türk said.
“The apartheid regime in South Africa, the decolonisation process, gender equality and feminism – all of these various things would not have happened without that external pressure. And it means as a result, there will be uncomfortable conversations. We need to be prepared to have them. And they are going to be about sensitive issues at times. That's part of this struggle. And it also will mean speaking truth to power,” he said.
“That human rights will challenge the status quo. It will challenge existing unhealthy power dynamics because they suppress, they repress, they exploit, they capture. And they often are predatory in their mechanisms, and that is power dynamics that will always be challenge to the human rights course.,” Türk said.
And the big human rights achievements have only been possible because of individuals, human rights defenders, because of their perseverance, their courage and their determination,” he said.
“So these robust, honest discussions are part of the human rights discourse. But they have to take they have to take place away from geopolitics and really out of deep concern for human rights, for everyone, everywhere,” he said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence - +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or
Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org or
Thameen Al-Kheetan - + 41 76 223 77 62 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk Interactive Dialogue with the 56th Human Rights Council
TRT: 03:22
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/ NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 20 June 2024 – Geneva, Switzerland
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior: Alley of flags, Palais des Nations
2. Interior: Room 20
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I sometimes fear that we are losing the art of de-escalation, of keeping communication channels open, of actually embracing a culture of peace in line with international law and with the United Nations Charter.”
4. Cut Aways: Room 20
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Human rights is a factor of stability. In the chaos, it guides us, it offers solutions, it offers orientations, it offers signposts, and it offers a direction of travel.”
6. Cut Aways: Room 20
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Selectivity and double standards are an anathema to the foundation of the international level system. From Sudan to Myanmar, OPT, Israel to many other places – the victims of the most serious violations deserve the equal attention of the international community.”
8. Cut Aways: Room 20
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Human rights issues are a matter of international concern. It is not an issue of interference in domestic affairs or in national sovereignty. That was established early on, through the UN Charter.”
10. Cut Aways: Room 20
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The apartheid regime in South Africa, the decolonisation process, gender equality and feminism – all of these various things would not have happened without that external pressure. And it means as a result, there will be uncomfortable conversations. We need to be prepared to have them. And they are going to be about sensitive issues at times. That's part of this struggle.And it also will mean speaking truth to power.”
12. Cut Aways: Room 20
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “It means human rights will challenge the status quo. It will challenge existing unhealthy power dynamics because they suppress, they repress, they exploit, they capture. And they often are predatory in their mechanisms, and that is power dynamics that will always be a challenge to the human rights course.”
14. Cut Aways: Room 20
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “And the big human rights achievements have only been possible because of individuals, human rights defenders, because of their perseverance, their courage and their determination.”
16. Cut Aways: Room 20
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “So these robust, honest discussions are part of the human rights discourse. But they have to take they have to take place away from geopolitics and really out of deep concern for human rights, for everyone, everywhere.”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.